The present invention relates to wagering games. Specifically the present invention is a game method that may be applied to a variety of wagering games to permit a separate mid-game wager during game play for qualifying intermediate holdings.
A game well known in the gambling industry is video poker. In the conventional game of video poker known in the art, a gaming machine with an incorporated data processor and display is provided. The gaming machine receives a player""s wager thereby prompting the data processor to randomly select a hand of cards from a data structure containing data representing a deck of playing cards. The hand of cards, typically five cards, is displayed face up to represent an initial hand.
The player selects which, if any, of the five cards of the initial hand to hold and prompts the processor, through an input device, to discard the remaining cards. The data processor replaces the discarded cards with cards selected from the data structure containing data representing a deck of cards depleted of the initial hand. The replacements along with the held cards form a final hand.
The video poker device compares the final outcome to a set of pre-determined winning combinations stored in the data structure. Typically, these combinations represent the conventional ranked Poker hands such as a pair of Jacks or better, two pair, three of a kind, and so forth. If the player""s final outcome matches a winning combination, the player is rewarded according to a predetermined fixed paytable. Otherwise, the final outcome is deemed to be a loss and the player""s wager is retained by the gaming machine.
Another gaming machine known in the art is a slot machine. A slot machine includes a random number generator, which can be either mechanical or electronic, and a set of reels, which also can be either mechanical or electronic. Symbols or symbol sets are randomly selected by the random number generator. If a winning combination of symbols appears on a designated payline, the player is rewarded. If no winning combinations appear on a designated payline, the player""s wager is retained by the gaming machine.
It is known in the art that players are attracted to games in which a larger payout is possible. Thus, several methods have been developed to improve payouts for video poker, slot machines, and other wagering games. Two of these methods are secondary games and jackpots.
Secondary games are separate games which are activated by some triggering event occurring during or after the play of a primary game. For example, one secondary game for slot machines is triggered by a designated symbol appearing on the display. Upon triggering, a bonus screen appears in which the gaming machine randomly selects, or a player selects, one or more bonus symbols from a bonus symbol set. Depending on the bonus symbols selected, a bonus is awarded. Rather than a fixed bonus, it is also known to provide a bonus multiplier that multiplies the winnings of the primary game.
Secondary games have also been developed for video poker. For example, one secondary game developed for video poker is triggered if the player has a winning combination. The secondary game is optional and requires no additional wager in exchange for the chance to double the player""s winnings.
In the secondary game, one dealer card is displayed face up and four player cards are displayed face down. The player is rewarded when the player selects a player card with a higher value than the dealer card. When the player selects a player card with a lower value than the dealer card, the player loses the amount won from the primary game. The drawbacks of this system are that the player must risk the player""s winnings to play the secondary game and the outcome of the secondary game is not tied to the outcome of the primary game.
Progressive jackpots also encourage continued play by making the game exciting, suspenseful, and entertaining. In such a jackpot, a portion of each primary wager is allocated to a progressive jackpot. The prize is generally awarded based on the ultimate outcome of the primary game. However, the odds of obtaining a progressive jackpot are very low.
Thus, it can be seen that there is a need in the art for a method for increasing the payouts of a game such as video poker, slot machines, and other wagering games.
The present method may be applied to any gaming game. The game method begins with designating an intermediate game point, a qualifying intermediate holding, and a qualifying final result.
A player makes a base game wager and initiates the base game. The base game is played in conventional fashion according to the rules governing play of the base game until reaching the predetermined intermediate game point. If the player possesses a predetermined qualifying intermediate holding at the intermediate game point, the player is permitted to place a mid-game wager.
The base game is played to completion and the player is rewarded, if at all, based on his base game wager for his or her final holding. If the final holding is also a predetermined qualifying final result, the player is also rewarded based on his or her mid-game wager.